Pressing machine



March 17, 1931.

c. E. WAREAM ET AL PRESSING MACHINE Filed Oct 9, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 /N VEN TCD/6,5

17, 1931. Q E WAREAM ETAL A Y 1,796,640

PRESSING MACHINE Filed Oct. 9, 192.5 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VENTO/S March 1,7, 1931.

`c. E. WAREAM ET AL 1,796,640

PRESSING MACHINE Filed Oct. 9, 1925 5 Sheets-sheet 4 JZ l @y 'f7 if@ 7 n: Q \J/ 46 47.

ff. es! M ATT RNEYy Mach 17, 1931. C, EfWAREAM ET AL 1,796,640

PRESSING MACHINE Filed ootfsa, 1925 5 sheets-sheet 5 Patented Mar. 17, 1931 STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES E. WAREAM AND GEORGE WFJOHNSON, OF NORWOOD, OHIO, ASSIGNOBS TO p THE AMERICAN LAUNDRY MACHINERY COMPANY, OIE' NORWOOD, OHIO, A. COR- IPORATION OF OHIO PRESSING MACHINE Application led October 9, 1925. Serial No. 61,466.

This invention relates to power operated pressing machines, such as are used for pressing-garments and in laundries for ironing wearing apparel.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved power pressing machine embodying a special Vform of epicyclic gearing in the ,mechanism between the power motor and pressing head to secure a material and quiet reduction of speed and enable the operating mechanism to be readily reversed for moving the head to and lfro.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved power pressing machine of the type described in which the closing operation is terminated by meansl sensitive to or governed by or in accordance with the amount of pressure exerted upon the work, such means being adjustable, if desired, to vary the predetermined pressure so produced and being so arranged that under all circumstances and regardless of the thickness ot' work a uniform and any desired predetermined pressure may be produced.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved power pressing machine in which the press opening movement is terminated by means actuated by and therefore governed in accordance with the movable pressing member or members, to insure full opening of the press after each pressing operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved power pressing machine of the type before described equipped with safety guard means constructed and arranged not only to stop the motor means in` case of impending injury to the operator or obstruction of the guard, but to also initiate and cause the completion of a complete press i. opening movement or, in other words, to restore the press to initial full open position, thereby releasing from pressure whatever may have caused the obstruction, such as the work or a part of the operators person.

A Aurtherobject ofthe invention is to provide safety mechanism for a press of'this kind, including a guard adapted to engage any obstruction to normal movement of the pressing members in closing, said guard being of special form and sensitive to movement at any point and adapted when its movement is obstructed to not only promptly bring the pressing members to rest, but to reverse the movement of the operating mechyas to be engaged by any abnormal obstruction but nevertheless does not proceed beyond the pressing space when the press is fully closed `and does not interfere with the lay or set of a garment or other work on the pressing bed.

Further objects of the invention are in part obvious and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

In the'drawings, which represent one suitable embodiment of the invention7 Fig. l is a side elevation, the cover of the switch casing being omitted to expose interior parts; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation; Fig. 3 is a detail sectional elevation through the lower portion of the machine on the line 3 3, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail section of the rearing on the line lt-qFig. 5; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional elevation on the line 5-5, Fig. l; Fig. 6 is a detail elevation of the control switch operating and movement limiting mechanism at the rear of the machine; Fig. 7 ris a detail'e1evation partly in section, through the safety reversing mechanism, the section/being taken on the line 7--7, Fig. 2; Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view on the line 8-8, Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a detail section through the latch rod on the line 9 9, Fig. 7 Fig. 10 is a detail section on approximately the line 10--10, Fig. 2, and illustrating the finger guard and its operating mechanism; Fi 11 is a detail section illustrating a part o the mechanism actuated .by the finger guard, the section being taken frame.

' The press shown in the drawings comprises a suitable frame 1 on the pedestal of which is mounted the usual heated pressing bed or garment( support 2 cooperatingwith the l"pressing head 3 supported by the head lever 4 pivoted at 5 -in an upward extension of the The rear arm of said lever supports a swivel block 6 in which slides a rod 7 jointe or pivoted at the. knuckle pin 8 to a link 9, which in turn ispivoted at 10 to a short link 11 pivoted in the stationary frame at A 12.

` Rod 7 atv its upper end above the head-lever carriesa head 13 and below said lever an adjustable collar or abutment 14 serving as a seat for adjusting the pressufe of a compression spring 15, which at its upper end abuts the swivel block 6 before referred to.

The rod 7 and link 8 cooperate as toggle members with the knuckle 8, bystraightening and breaking of which toggle members the press is closed or opened. The short link '11 is for emergency purposes,'the pivot 1() being connected by a link 16 to a pin movable vin the slot -17 ofone arm of an emergency treadle 18 pivoted at 19 in the frame. This emergenc mechanism is of known form adapted or use when the press is closed and if its operating mechanism fails for any reason, under which circumstances the emergency treadle 18 may be depressed t6 move the link 11 counter-clockwise in Fig. 1 and openv the toggle formed by members 11 :and

Fat

9 and thereby permit the head to rise a short distance sufficient to free an obstruction or prevent burning the padding of the bed. This emergency mechanism formsno part of the present invention and may be omitted, if

desired.

The press is operated by -any suitable prime mover, such as the electric motor 19, the shaft of which is connected by a universal coupling 20 tol a shaft 21 rotatable in suitable bearings in -the frame and extending through a hollow 'casing 22. In said casing are located a fixed gear 23 on the rub of which a sleeve 22"* of the casing rotates and a rotatable gear 24 to which the casing is keyed at 22h, both of saidgears surrounding shaft 21 and of which gears the gear 23 has a slightly smaller pitch diameter than gear 24. Between said two gears, shaft 21 has keyed thereto a spider 25 shown as having three arms, each of which carries a stub shaft 26 supporting two pinions 27, 28 respectively meshing with the stationary gear 23 and the rotatable gear 24 and having pitch diameters corresponding with their matin gears. In other words, the pitch diameter o pinion 27 is slightly greater than that of pinion 28. Gear 24, while rotatable on the shaft 21 is fixed to turn with the cas- Jing 22, which at its opposite end is sleeved d link 29 to the knuckle 8 between the upper and lower toggle members. Consequently rotation of the casing 2 2, producedjn the manner described, produces crank motion of the connecting pin 30, causing the link 29 to serve as a -connecting rod for straightening or breaking the toggle members for closing or opening the press. As will later appear, shaft 21 is driven in opposite directions by the motor 19, with consequent oscillatory movement of the casing 22 and the gearing enclosed therein.

The gear casing 22 is preferably provided with plugged ppenings 31 through which 1t may be filled with grease or other lubricant in which the gears run. l The system for controlling operative movement of the pressing members includes certain electric switches for the motor. circuit as Well, as mechanism permitting certain phases of manual control of said system by the operator, other phases of its automatic operation by the machine, and still other phases of its automatic operation in case of unusual or emergency conditions.

Referring first to Figs. 6, 12 and 13, the electric system includes a reversing switch which is indicated generally at 3 2, Fig. 6. This switch comprises four stationary contacts 37 38 and two sets of movable contacts, to wit, upper contacts 33 and lower contacts 35. The four stationary contacts 37, 38 are all at the same level. Looking at ,the switch from the front, as in Fig. 6, two of them, marked 37 are at the left and two of them, marked 38, are at the right. Fig. 12, which is a sectional view taken at right angles to Fig. 6, shows the two stationary contacts 37, which extend vertically and lie parallel to each other.

The four movable contacts 33 are also all at the same level, being presented two to the left and two to the right in Fig. 6, so that they will properly register with and lie opposite to the stationary contacts 37, 38. The four lower contacts 35 are arranged in like manner to the upper contacts, two at the left and two at the right, so as to register properly with the stationary contacts I37, 38.

These two sets of movable contacts, four upper and four lower, are cross connected in pairs by jumpers, one jumper being shown at 34, Fig. 12. These jumpers are wires or bonds of the usual form used in connecting lthe lcontacts of electrical switches and the like. The jumpers for the upper set of contacts, however, are arranged differently from those for the lower set of contacts, and specontacts of the switch are moved to their upper position, so that the lower contacts are effective or function to complete the circuits, each contact 37-is connected by a pair of contacts 35 and jumper to one of the contacts 38, whereas, when the switch is in its lowest position, with the upper contacts 33 functioning to complete the circuits, the two contacts 37 are conductively connected and T the two contacts 38 are conductively connected, all as indicated in the diagram, Fig. 13.

The upper ofA contacts 33 and their jumpers are mounted on an insulating block 39 with a non-circular, such as a square, opening, so that said block slides vertically but without rotation upon a rod 40. The lower contacts 35 are likewise mounted on a like insulating block 4l also slidable on said rod. The two blocks with their sets of contacts are normally separated by a compression spring 42, which forces the upper block against a collar 43 and the lower block against a collar 44, said collars being secured to the rod 40. Upward motion of the rod in the switch casing islimited by a collar 45 on its lower end adapted to abut the casing. At its upper end said rod is jointed by a link 46 to one arm of a bell crank lever 47, the other arm of which carries a swivel block 48 through which slides a rod 49 jointed at 50 to one arm ofA the 'l or three armed lever 51. Between the swivel block 48 and a pin on the rod 49 is a compression spring 52. A second arm of the T lever 51 is pivoted to a rod 53 extending through an opening in a bracket 54 on the machine table 55, said rod being provided with a collar 55a to limit its forward motion and on its outer end with a button or knob 56 by which it may be manipulated and which limits its rearward motion. The thirdarm of the T lever 51 has its end formed as a yoke 57 through the opening of which passes the lower end of a rod 58 having` rollers 59 beneath said yoke to engage the side members thereof, and which rod extends upwardly and slidesv through a bearing 60 on a stationary part of the frame, above which itis sur rounded by a compression spring 61 abutting a collar 62. `Said rod is squared where it passes through the bearing 60, as shown in Fig. 9, to prevent its rotation therein. lts

upper end is round and slides in a bearing in a stationary bracket 63 clamped on the pivot shaft 5 for the-head lever, as shown in Fig. 10, said rod 58 where it slides through the bracket being provided with a recess 64 to receive a latch 65on the end of a rod 66 threaded for adjustment endwise'in an ear 67 surrounding the head trunnion 5,

where it is provided with a slot 67 slightly elongated in the direction of the length of rod 66, as shown in Fig 7. Surrounding the ear 67 is a block 68 adapted to turn about theear as a bearing with swinging movement of the head and to which block is attached a rod 69 connected at its other lend (see Fig. 10) to ain arm 70 on ashaft 71 extending across the top of the head and journalled -in upward extensions from two arms 72 pivoted on the head and lying along side of the side arms of the head lever. At opposite ends of the machine, the shaft 71 is provided with short arms V73 connected to links 74, which on Ltheir lower ends are provided with balls 75 lying in sockets in the frame 76 of a guard' for the pressing members, said guard having a skirt portion 77 dependin along the entire periphery o'f the head and o open form as shown in Fig. 2. Where the frame members lie along side of the arms 72 they are provided with vertically extending slots 7 8 to receive pins 79, the arrangement being such that the left hand pin 79 (Fig.

slots permit the front and rear portions of the guard to rise simultaneously on other oc casions. When any such motions of the guard occurand they may occur at either or both ends of the press-either or both of the ball portions 75 are raised-turning one or both of the two arms 73 in the counter-clockwise direction. Each arm 73 has a collar 73a surrounding the shaft 71 and provided with a shoulder or abutment 73b adapted to engage a like shoulder or abutment 71a on a collar 71b pinned to the shaft 7l, the arrangement being such that either arm 73 may alone turn the shaft 71, the shoulder 71a at the other end of the shaft thereupon moving away from its operating shoulder 7 3a. When shaft 71 is so turned it pulls over to the right the rod 69 and (referring to Fig. 7) moves the slotted e'ar 67 to the right to take up the lost motion in its elongated slot and thereby withdraw the latch 65 from the recess 64, all for emergency control operation, as will later appear. 4

Referring back, now, to the bell crank lever 47, that arm thereof to which the link 46 is connected is also connected by a link 8O to a yoke like arm 81 pivoted on the machine frame, the pin `82 to which said link 80 is connected carrying a roller L? adapted for engagement by a shoulder or ledge 84 (see Fig. 1) of the head lever. Said pin also supports a swivel block 82a through which i y slides a rod 85 having a collar 85a at its lower end and connected at its upper end to the outer end of a lever 86 pivoted at 87 to the head lever.and connected by a link 88 to a lateral extension 89 from the head 13 at the upper end of the upper toggle rod 7.

Referring now to Fig. 10, the side portions of the front head lever arm are provided with downward extensions having bearings for a shaftJ 90, fastened on each end of which is a bell crank lever 91 having in the free arms thereof rollers 92 adapted to engage plates 94 fast on arms 72 supporting the guard. The other arms of' said levers arev connected by links 95 to pivots in clevises 96 rigidly secured to the stationary brackets 63a. Arms 72 are provided at their rear ends with ears 98 supporting adjustable stop screws 99 adapted to engage upward exten- ,V sions 97 of the brackets 63a to limit downward swinging motion of the arms 72 and the guard carried thereby.

The operation is as follows:

Let us assume that the press is full-y closed under pressure with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1. At any time when the press operating mechanism fails or if, for example, the main current supply should be suddenly cut oif or if for any reason it is impossible to open the press, the emergency treadle 18 may be depressed to tilt the pivot forward and break or open the toggles 9, 11. Under ordinary conditions, this emergency opening mechanism is not resorted to, and its parts shown in Fig. 1, remain in the positions there shown.

To open the press, the operator pushes in the knob 56 until it engages the frame bracket 54, thereby turning lever 51 in the counterclockwise direction, Fig. 6. In the closed position of the press shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 13,

the switch parts are in neutral position. When the pivot 50 on lever 51 passes beyond a straight line running from the pivot of lever 51 to the swivel block 48 the compression of spring 52 overbalances the parts and completes the final movement of the controlling rod 53 and holds the same in its new position. Likewise the compression effect of spring 52 is exerted upon the swivel block 48-and snaps the depending arm of lever 47 turning said lever in the clockwise direction, Fig. 6, thereby elevating the rod 40 and moving the lower contacts 35 into bridging relation with the contacts 37 38. This operation completesa motor circuit in Fig. 13 from L1 by way of the main switch 100, wire 101, a contact 37, bridge contacts 35, a contact 38, wire 102, the motor armature, wire 103, a contact 37 bridge contacts 35, a contact 38, wire 104 to L2. The motor thereupon rotates in what may be termed the reverse direction (assuming the press vclosing direction to be the forward direction) and produces rotation of the casing 22 in the clockwise direction, Fig. 1, thereby opening the toggles 7, 9,'permitting head 13 to move downwardly and engage the swivel block 6 and then pull down the rear arm of the head lever, thereby opening the press. Rod 85 slides idly through the swivel block 82a. At the conclusion of the press opening operation the ledge 8,4 engages the roller 83 and pushes downwardly the link 80 and rod 40, restoring the switch parts to the neutral position shown in the drawing. Since the head lever is the part which performs this switch opening operation the parts are always brought to rest in a definite open position determined by movement of the head lever itself.

Press closing operation is performed by pulling out the button 56 to the position shown in Fig. 6. The operation of the switch part-s is the reverse of that before described.

Again, as soon as the pivot 50 passes a straightin Fig. 13 from L1 by wire 101, a contact 37,

bridge lcontacts 33, the other contact 37, wire 1.03, the motor armature, wire 102, across contacts 38 by way of bridged contacts 33 and by wire 104 to L2. The motor now4 rotates in the forward direction, turning casing 22 in the counter-clockwise direction, Fig.A

1, and straightening the toggle members 7, 9. The pressing elements are brought to engaging relation with the work and power pressure is then applied with consequent compression of the spring 15 to such an amount, regardless of the thickness of the work, as to cause the" head 13 to rise from the swivel block 6. Collar 85a has engaged swivel block 82a and the upward motion of head 13 therefore turns lever 86 a suiiicient amount to raise rod 85 and through the yoke lever 81 to elevate the rod 40 and restore the parts of the reversing switch 32 to their neutral positions, as indicated in Fig. 13. In such position the press and motor parts stop and the press is allowed to remain with full power pressure applied to the work for as long as the operator chooses, when an opening operation 1s 1mtiated and completed as before.

Each time the rod l40 is moved by actuation of the manually operatable rod 53 to initiate a press closing or opening operation the parts of the switch move into currentI conducting position immediately and without any particular eii'ect upon the spring 42 between the blocks 39, 41. Qnv the other hand when the- .rod 40 is either raisedl or moved downwardly automatically', by the ,effect-ofthe ledge 84 on the one hand or the upward motion of the head 13 on the other hand, suchlswitch operations begins with the contacts closed and-the first elect is to compress the spring 42 and move vone insulating block 39 or 41 toward the other until the compression imparted to said spring is sulficient to snap the contacts out of engagement.

i skirt of the guard lies at practically the meet- Vao `and' with a speed which increases and ing plane of the head and bed. Also, the wall ofthe guard liesvery cloe to the head so Ythat the space 110 between the guard and pressing members is not wide enough to permit the operator to slip her fingers up under the guard and into the space -between the pressing 'members while Athey are being closed. As the press head rises during the opening movement, the bracket 63a and clevis 96 (Fig. l0) remain stationary, so that the rod 95 and lever 91 swing about the pivot between rod 95 and clevis 96 as an axis, thereby causing the roller 92 as the head rises to approach and finally engage the plates 94. Until said rollers have engaged said plates, the front arm of the head lever 4r moves upwardly without corresponding upward movement of the guard arms 72. As soon as the rollers 92 engage the plates 94, further upward movement of the head lever causes them to cam the guard arms 72 upwardly, so that the guard begins to move upwardly 1s faster than that of the head lever. As a consequence in the open press position the guard in its movement has overtaken the earlier moving head and has reached a position in which its lower edge is again opposite the lower edge of the head, so that the guard does not obstruct lthe entrance to the u pressing s ace. 'As the head lever moves downward y toward pressing position the reverse operations occur. During the first downward movement of the head the guard advances ahead of it until finally the guard reaches a position limited by engagement of the screws 99 with the bracket extensions 97, where its lower edge is at the level of the top of the bed.' There the guard halts until the head completes its downward motion. The advance of the guard ahead of the head enables the guard to strike an abnormal obstruction, such as the operators hand or arm, before the press is fullyl closed and therefore before the operator might .be injured.

Should the guard encounter such. an abnormal obstruction during its downward motion the movement of the guard is halted before it reaches its final downward position shown in Fig. 10, and the relative upward tilting of that part of the guard enh gaged by the obstruction raises one or the other of the balls 75 and turns the lever 70 in the counter-clockwise direction, Fi 10, and pulls over the rod 69 to the rig t in Fig. 7, as described. This operation withdraws the lug 65 from the recess 64, thereby freeing the rod 58 for upward motion roduced by compression of spring 61. This is a fairly strong spring and in the'position shown in Fig. 7, it is sufficiently compressed so that when released it has power enough to cause the rollers 59 to turn the lever 51 in the counter-clockwise direction and complete the same kind of a press opening operation as is completed by operation of the rod 53, to wit, the full movement of lever 51 in the counterclockwise direction from the position shown in full lines to that in dotted lines, Fig. 6, not only irst moving the reversing switch parts to neutral, but secondarily moving such parts to the motor reversing position, completing the reverse motor circuit before described and causing the motor to' rotate in the reverse direction until the pressing parts have been moved to full open position where they are stopped by engagement of the ledge 84 with the roller 83, as before described; After such an emergency stopping and press opening operation the parts are restored to normal position by actuation of the rod 53 for producing the next closing operation, during which operation lever 51 is moved to the position shown in Figs. 6 and 8, the yoke arm` 57 of said lever pulling the rod 58 downwardly until the parts 64 and 65 again latch.

ln this pressing machine the opening position of the parts is always the same, due to the fact that the opening cycle is terminated by the head lever itself, a shoulder on which actuates the switch for opening the motor circuit. As to the closed full pressure position of the pressing members, such position may vary, according to whether the work beingbperated upon is thick or thin. rllhe spring 15 may be adjusted by adjustment of V its abutment 14 to produce any desired predetermined pressure upon the work, say one thousand pounds. When the head is brought into engagement with the work and one thousand pounds pressure has been produced upon Athe Work, spring 15 yields and permits upward motion of the head 13, with consequent action of the switch mechanism in the manner described. If the garment is thick, the toggle members will not be straightened so fully as if a thin piece is iron, but under all conditions the head 13 will travel the predeter- Inined distance when the spring 15 yields and opening the motor circuit and stopping the pressing members with the garment under measured pressure, regardless of its thickness. In this press therefore, regardless of the thickness of the work, the movement of the pressing members during the closing and pressure operations is limited by means sensitive to or controlled by a' predetermined de- Agrec or value of-.ironing pressure, and\such degree or value is readily adjustable by the adjustment of nut 14.

Adjiistmentof the rod 66 in member 67 0bviously permits a line or sensitive adjustment of the operation of the emergency mechanism, so that it can be made to release the ro'd 58 to movement by the spring 61 upon any deree of movement of the guard. It will also be noted that the guard skirt and frame are of relativelylight construction and therefore more or less flexible. other Words, an obstruction-at one end of the press may tilt upwardly one end of the guard without producing like motionof'the guard at the other end of the press. vNevertheless, the connections in `themechanism from the guard to the switch controlling parts'op'erated thereby are such that wherever any part of the guard is tilted upwardly by an obstruc- .tion and consequent rotation of the shaft 71 an operation of the switch parts is produced. Under all circumstances therefore the press is safe to operate and protects not only the operator, but the machine parts as well.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. A pressing machine,comiprising relatively movable pressing members, means for operating said members to produce pressure therebetween, means for limiting the production of pressure by said operating means, and

means sensitive to a predetermined value of pressure between said members for causing operation of said limiting means.

2. .A pressing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the operation l,of the means sensitive to a-predetermined value f pressure is unaffected by the thickness of the work.

3. .A pressing machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the means sensitive to a predetermined value of pressure is adjustable to vary said predetermined value.

' value, said 4. A pressing machine, comprising relatively movable pressing members, means for operating the same and causing ironing pressure therebetween, said means including'` yieldably connected arts arranged to moveA relatively to each ot er as the pressure between said pressing members increases, and means controlled by said parts for limiting the amount of ironing pressure produced between said members to a predetermined arts being adjustable to vary the value oi) Asaid predetermined` pressure.-

InA

6. A pressing machine, vcomprising relatively movable pressing members, a power driven means, means actuated thereby for producing relative approach of said members to cause ironing pressure therebetween, means for stopping the operation of said power driven means and means sensitive'toa predetermined value of ironing pressure between said members for causing operation of said stopping means.

7. A pressing machine, comprising relatively movable pressing members, power driven means, means actuated thereby for producing pressure between said members, normal controlling means therefor adapted when operated to cause the power driven means to produce complete pressure operation of said pressing members, and emergency means controlling said power driven means for said pressure producing means adapted when actuated to automatically interrupt the pressurel producing operation and cause the 'pressing members to move to full open position. I n

8. Av pressing machine, comprising relatively movable pressing members, power e driven means, means actuated thereby for producing pressure between said members, normalcontrolliiig mea-ns therefor adapted when operated to cause the power driven means to produce complete pressure operation lof said pressing members, normal release means adapted when actuated to causerelease of the pressing members to full open position, and emergency controlling means for said pressure producing means adapted whenactuated to automatically interrupt the pressure producing operation and cause the pressing members to move to full open posi-l tion.

9. A pressing machine, comprising relatively movable pressin tween said members and arranged to be capableof reverse operation for opening the press, normal controlling means adapted when operated to cause the power operating means to produce complete pressure operation of said pressing members, and emergency controlling means adapted when actuated to automatically interrupt the pressure producing operation and cause reverse operation of said power operating means to open the press.

10. A pressing machine, comprising relatively movable pressing members, l power operated means actuated to produce closing i operation of' said members and capable of reverse operation to open the press, normal controlling means therefor adapted to produce closing` and opening movement of the press, a guard for the entrance to the pressmembers, power operated means for pro ucing pressure being space, and means actuated by saidv guard.

11. A garment press, comprisingrelatively movable` pressing members, operating mechanism for producing relative motion of'said members and including a reversible electric i motor, means for normally operating said motor to apply and relieve pressure, and additional emergency means operatively connected to said motor for producing reverse operation thereof to open the press.

. 12.' A garment press, comprising relatively movable pressing members, operating means for producing relative movement of said members and including a reversible electric motor, means for producing forward rota- -tion of said motor to apply pressure to the 13. A garment press, comprising relative- `ly movable pressing members, operating means therefor including a reversible electric motor, a reversing switch for producing 'forward and reverse motor circuits, manually' operable means for closing said switch to produce either of said circuits, and additional means operatively connected to the moving press parts for lopening said switch from its two closed positions.

14. A garment press, comprising relative-` ly movable pressing members, operating means therefor including a reversible electric motor, a reversing switch for producing Vforward and reversemotor circuits, manually operable means for closing said switch to produce either of said circuits, means operated by the moving press parts for opening said switch from its two closed positions, and emergencymeans connected to said switch and adapted to operate the same to reverse the motor circuit when closing movement of the pressing members is obstructed.

15. A garment press, comprising relatively movable pressing members, power means for closing the same and applying pressure thereto, a controller therefor, a guard having a portion extending along the edge of the head and adapted to engage and be moved by any obstruction to closing movement of the pressing members and connections from said guard to said controller, and means sensitive to'tilting movement ofsaid guard and operatively connected to said controller for actuating the same to interrupt the operation of the power means.

ly movable pressingmembers, power means for closing and opening the same and including a reversible motor, a guard having a skirt portion extending along the edge ofthe head, and means connecting said guard to the upper pressing member the guard lies opposite the upper pressing 16. A garmentpress, comprising relativei andv so arranged thatmember in open and closed positions thereof and advances ahead thereof during closing movement of the press.

17. A garment pressing machine, comprising relatively movable pressing members, a

reversible electric motor for producing opening and closing movement thereof, and epicyclic oscillatory speed reducing gearing between said motor and said pressing members.

18. In a pressing machine the combination of cooperating pressing elements one of which is movable toward and from the other, power means for actuating the movable element, means for controlling the actuation ofl the movable element by the power means including mechanism operated by a predetermined maximum pressure of the movable element on thev other element, said mechanism includv ing a shiftable part normally in one position whereby the power from the power means is effectively applied and shiftable out of such position by the predetermined maximum pi'essure.-

19. In a pressing machine, the combination of cooperating pressing elements, one of which is movable toward and from the other, power means for actuating the movable element and means for controlling the actuation of the movable element by the power means comprising an electric .feed cir-v cuit, an electric motor A in said. circuit, an electric switch and means controlled by 'a predetermined maximum pressure between said elements for throwing said switch to break the circuit through the motor.

20. In a pressing machine, the combination of cooperating pressing elements, one of which is movable toward and from the other; means for actuating themovable element, including an electric motor and an electric feed circuit connected to said motor, manual means for closing the circuit through the motor to close the press, an'electric switch in said circuit and means'controlled bythe pressure applied bythe movable element to attuate the switch to open said circuit, and means for opening the press, comprising a manually operable switch for closing the circuit ythrough the motor when the press is closed.

In testimony whereof we hereby aiiix our signatures.

CHARLES E. WAREAM. YGEORGE W. JOHNSON. 

